IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Biomaterials Thursday Sessions
       Session BI-ThA

Paper BI-ThA5
The Use of Surface Composition to Control Cell Phenotype Expression

Thursday, November 1, 2001, 3:20 pm, Room 102

Session: Cell-Surface Interaction
Presenter: J.J. Hickman, Clemson University
Authors: J.J. Hickman, Clemson University
P. Molnar, Clemson University
G. Jacob, Clemson University
M. Das, Clemson University
T. Tauber, Clemson University
Correspondent: Click to Email
There is currently a large amount of interest in neuronal STEM cell manipulation to create stable phenotypes. The initial phase of CNS development is characterized by the proliferation of the precursor cells, followed by the generation of neurons and glia. The neurons are differentiated into different neurotransmitter phenotypes as well as glial cells. However, the factors that control the differentiation of the precursor cells into differentiated cell types are still mainly unknown. It is believed that the cell environment plays a key role in the specification of neuronal cells, even though a cell intrinsic developmental program is important in regulating cell lineage. We have shown it may be possible to manipulate the development of specific phenotypes through cell-surface interactions. In the present study, the expression of neuronal cell phenotype was examined in a defined in vitro system in which embryonic rat cortical cells were grown on silica substrates modified with artificial surfaces composed of silane self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in serum-free medium. Experiments were conducted utilizing various neurotrophic factors and various substrates to examine cortical neuron phenotype expression. Cultures were immunostained with a panel of antibodies to detect specific differentiation markers. On poly-D-lysine and DETA, glutamatergic cells represented 30-40% of total cells and GABAergic cells represented about 50-60% of total cells, which is consistent with immunocytochemical findings in vivo. On 13F the ratio of glutamatergic to GABAergic was greater. We will present these results as well as an explaination for the observed effects.